The present invention relates in general to the handling and installation of glass panels such as automotive windshields, and, more specifically, to an alignment pin on a glass panel that mates with holes in a mounting frame to align the glass panel while it is bonded to the mounting frame.
Locator pins are commonly used as an assembly aid on automotive glass (such as windshields and backlites) to correctly locate and temporarily hold the glass panel in the proper position until a bonding/sealing agent (e.g., urethane) applied around the periphery of the glass panel has cured. After the urethane cures, the locator pins have no further function.
The locator pins must be accurately positioned on the surface of the glass panel to correspond with mounting holes in the vehicle frame so that the glass panel is properly centered within the vehicle frame and held at a desired height from the frame to accommodate the desired width of urethane. To simplify the glass panel placement within the vehicle frame and mounting holes, a substantial pin length is desired. However, the height of the locator pins decreases the packing density of the glass panels during transportation from the glass manufacturer to the vehicle assembler. The reduction in packing density increases overall shipping costs as well as the expenditures for fabricating and transporting racks in which the glass panels are shipped. In order to avoid cost increases related to inefficient packaging, glass manufacturers sometimes open local facilities near the shipping destinations (e.g., the customer's assembly plants) in order to install the locator pins. It would be desirable to increase packing density while preserving the functionality of a locator pin.
With or without locator pins, spacers are typically employed between adjacent glass panels in shipping racks to reduce damage during shipping. When transporting glass panels with long locator pins, spacer thickness must be greatly increased in order to accommodate the pin length. Thus, it would also be desirable to reduce or eliminate the need for spacers.